Thoughts From The Top Rope 05.14.08: The War Continues...

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 05.14.2008

My look at a TNA/WWE battle continues as the brands prepare for battle at Hard Justice and Summerslam. And who's the first competitor to jump ship?

Afternoon, loyal readers! Most of y'all seemed to enjoy my take on a potential WWE vs. TNA War so we're sticking with that this week, partially because the response was positive and partially because I'm too tired to do anything else. It's exam time, and I'm glad I've got this and my music news report to keep me sane. There's only so much revising I can take.

On with the show.

Positive feedback is always welcome, but sometimes negative feedback is funnier…

Thoughts From The Comments Section

From Snuggles;

You forgot the part when Vince takes a poop on the TNA ring, and this column for that matter. Next time, take the week off.

Hopefully you'll forgive me, but you can't fault me for not taking the word of a guy called "Snuggles" seriously, particularly when that guy uses the word "poop" in his criticism. Luckily for me, the vast majority enjoyed my look into a TNA/WWE war.

From Faisal;

More! This is superb! Keep it up!

You wanted it; I provide it. It's what keeps the world running smoothly.

From Bman;

This is a great idea, honestly. If Vince and Jarrett set aside their differences and worked this out to pick up business for both sides then it might actually be plausible, too.

I guess that's just wishful thinking, but we'll always have fantasy booking
(and EWR) to make it happen for ourselves.

"Plausible" might be a bit of a stretch. Obviously TNA would jump at the chance for a little cross promotion, but Vince wouldn't risk it. TV ratings may be low but financially, I'm pretty sure WWE is doing as well as they've ever done.

From Torad;

Not normally a big fan of fantasy booking, but this is great so far. Looking
forward to the rest.

I appreciate you taking the time out to read the kind of thing you not normally a fan of.

From Marcus;

I love it. I can't wait for next week.

The wait is pretty much over!

From Chevy;

I like this idea. This is seriously, the best idea I've heard for a TNA/WWE
storyline.

Wow. That's awesome, thanks.

From I Serotonin I;

Love it! As long as the TNA guys don't end up BERRIED! like the WCW guys at the last so-called invasion.

I'll be doing my best.

From JJ;

This was well done, Wilcox. I like how Jarrett fed WWE BS so Vince could try to buy them and thus give them the opportunity to invade. And I like the element of certain WWE wrestlers being questioned due to their past association with TNA guys. Good start.

One of the things I was trying to do was be logical and ensure that things made sense, and most of them time those were little things, so thanks for acknowledging that.

From Dan Gardner;

I've read some WWE/TNA angles before, but you've really got a moneymaker! Congrats!

Thank you, sir! Unfortunately, I fear that should my angle ever go down, I wouldn't be getting any royalties.

From Brad;

"Nash hit the Jack-knife on Orton" - Ok who's the comedian, Nash will
have torn every muscle in his leg by then.

The highlight reel segment owns though.

Gotta love this though "He calls Angle a bitch and looks at Jarrett and
says "I don't even know who you are." BWHAHAHAAHA its funny cause its
true.

I'm a big Nash fan, so he'll be playing an important role in this, though his in-ring stuff will certainly be limited.

From JF;

I dislike who Joe turned on Nash, because that just brings up a key problem with the WCW Invasion, in that it makes TNA mostly heels, thus making it so eventually WWE has to win overwhelmingly.

This was not my intention and I'm not sure if it the case. It would be difficult to make one side heels and the other face because the angle would be taking place during both TNA and WWE shows.

Torad gets what I'm saying;

I disagree, JF. One of the things that's really clever here is that the TNA guys are heels in WWE, but faces in TNA, and vice versa.

So, while Joe putting the clutch on Nash would be a heelish move from the WWE perspective, from the TNA perspective, Joe's putting Nash "on notice"
to get his priorities straight. (or at least commentary could put it over as
such). Ultimately, it seems like it will lead to Nash turning in a slow burn,
but heel or face depends on your perspective.

This is all extremely clever, stuff the WWE wanted to do if they could've kept
WCW's timeslot. This is good shit, seriously.

Thanks, Torad!

From A.G. Awesome

Not enough Abyss

From Sorry Bout Your Damn Luck;

I really like that you put James Storm huge.. but Dan, where is AJ and Daniels… they may not be useful to TNA now, but you can't deny these two men are two of the best in TNA

There are a number of guys who I'll be looking to put over big in front of a WWE audience, but it'll be a slow burn thing. You won't see everyone involved in the angle yet. For instance, I mentioned that the episode of Impact following the night that kicked off the war was essentially "business as usual" and there are still various feuds going on within each company. But don't think for a second that these guys mentioned by both of you won't be mixing it up with WWE guys in the near future.

And finally…

From 3MW;

That's a damn good read! Keep going…

Your wish is my command.

Thoughts From The Top Rope: The War Rages On

If you missed the events of last week, check it out here.

If you just want a quick reminder, here's a summary…

- Jeff Jarrett tricked Vince McMahon into thinking he would sell TNA, which got TNA some TV time in the main event of Raw. Samoa Joe confronted Vince before Jarrett laid him out with a guitar shot.

- On the same night, Chris Jericho had Kurt Angle as a guest on his Highlight Reel. Jericho mocked the idea of TNA being bought by Vince, prompting Angle to try and lock in the Ankle Lock, only for Jericho to escape.

- Kevin Nash reunited with DX in the main event of Raw to defeat Umaga, Randy Orton and JBL. Because of this, Nash was beatdown by members of the TNA roster on Impact for fraternizing with the enemy.

- On ECW, Chris Harris was punished for being a former TNA star by facing Kane in a match. After Kane won, TNA's James Storm lays Kane out with a beer bottle leading to an ECW Championship match between the two, the idea being that Estrada wanted to impress McMahon by having a TNA talent destroyed. This back-fired after Chris Harris interfered at The Great American Bash and inadvertently cost Kane the title.

- SmackDown that week saw Team 3D cost Batista a match against MVP by causing a distraction when they damaged Batista's car in the parking lot. With MVP alone in the ring, Rhino snuck in and laid him out with a Gore. In the parking lot, Christian Cage helped Team 3D beat down Batista.

- At The Great American Bash, John Cena returned to confront a number of TNA stars in the front row. After some physical altercation between Cena and Jeff Jarrett, Cena is pulled away by security.

- In the main event of the show, Christian Cage helped Edge retain the World Championship in a Fatal Four Way match also featuring MVP, Batista and Undertaker. Team 3D took Batista out towards the end of the match.

- Also at The Bash, Matt Hardy retained the US Championship against CM Punk, Mickie James retained the Women's Championship, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy defeated Umaga, JBL, Snitsky and William Regal, and Triple H retained the WWE Championship in a 2 Out of 3 Falls Match with Randy Orton. Orton was injured as a result of the match.

Now let's get to the fresh happenings.

Monday Night Raw (7/21) kicks off with WWE Champion Triple H making his way to the ring. He says he took care of one pain in the ass last night, and now he's turning his attention to another: TNA. He points out that he took the fight to WCW in 1998 and will do the exact same thing to TNA. But he's not going to be doing it alone, so he brings out Shawn Michaels. They run through the DX stuff, but stop before the "Suck It" because they forgot someone. They point to stage and out comes "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash. Nash gets to the ring and they all embrace. Nash tells TNA to suck it. Triple H says that a number of TNA stars are rumored to be in the building tonight, and he dares them to try and something tonight. Later in the night, Nash is seen backstage signing his new WWE contract with Vince McMahon.

That same evening, Mickie James defends her Women's Championship against Melina. After the match, Awesome Kong's music hits and she makes her way down to the ring. She gets up in Mickie's face and shoves her down. Mickie tries a few forearm shots but is overpowered. Kong lays her out with the Awesome Bomb. Maria, Ashley and Candice try to make the save but they all get tossed from the ring. Kong leaves with the Women's Championship.

The main event is a number one contender's match between John Cena and Jeff Hardy, with the winner set to face Triple H for the title at Summerslam. Hardy hits a Twist of Fate, followed by a Swanton Bomb for the win! Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Hardcore Holly, Carlito, Santino Marella, JBL, Umaga, Snitsky and William Regal make their way to the ring and begin to put a beat down on Jeff Hardy! John Cena grabs a chair and quickly makes the save for Hardy as the heels bail. JBL gets on the mic and notes that Jeff Hardy is a former TNA employee, and we all saw that former TNA employees aren't loyal to WWE when Chris Harris screwed Kane. Cena seems to consider it, but Hardy shakes his head. At that moment, an army of police officers makes their way to the ring. They place Cena under arrest for assault. As they drag his ass out of there, the heels attack Jeff Hardy. DX makes the save and helps Hardy up. They batter the heels with chairs and stand tall. Out of nowhere, dozens of TNA stars hit the ring from the crowd. Booker T, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Christian Cage, Team 3D, Rhino, BG and Kip James are all there. They put a beating on Nash, Michaels, Hardy and The Game. Chris Jericho, Mr. Kennedy and a couple of others attempt to help out but are son beat down too. Jeff Jarrett picks up Triple H's WWE Championship and holds it aloft for all to see.

The next night on ECW, Vince McMahon fires Armando Estrada for being foolish enough to put the ECW title in jeopardy (you may recall Vince praising the idea before the Bash). He will be in control of ECW from now on and the first thing he does is book Chris Harris vs. Kane in an Extreme Rules match, despite Harris insisting that he actions at The Bash were a mistake. Harris enters first, but Kane is attacked on his way to the ring by James Storm! Kane fights him off and they battle towards the ring. Storm lays out Kane with a super kick on the floor, and then Harris slides to the outside and gets in his face. They go nose to nose, and then start laughing. America's Most Wanted set up a table on the floor, and nail the Death Sentence on Kane through the table. ECW goes off of the air with AMW holding the ECW title above their heads.

On Impact that week, Robert Roode wins a 20-man battle royal to earn a title shot against Samoa Joe at Hard Justice on August 10. Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns beat Sonjay Dutt and the Rock ‘n' Rave Infection, while Awesome Kong beats Gail Kim to retain the Knockout's Championship.

Impact ends with Jeff Jarrett in the ring, clutching the WWE Championship in his hands. He says he has invited a very special guest to TNA and he brings out Vince McMahon! McMahon is calm. He tells Jarrett if it's exposure they want, they can have it. But Vince is sick to death of the sneak attacks, the suspicion and the cheap shots. He says for the first time ever, WWE and TNA stars will collide at a very special edition of Summerslam: WWE vs. TNA, if Jarrett agrees to it. Jarrett says that this is proof that WWE is running scared. Vince says not to get him wrong, because WWE will destroy TNA at Summerslam. Jarrett says it's time to put his money where his mouth is and accepts. Vince says he'll make it official with the condition that Jarrett returns the WWE Championship right now. Jarrett reluctantly gives back the gold. Vince is about to leave when he realizes that both entrance ramps in the Impact zone are blocked off by TNA stars. Holding his nerve, Vince leaves the ring and walks up the ramp. They all move out of his way, although Samoa Joe gives Vince a lengthy staredown. Suddenly, John Cena is in the ring and hits Jarrett with a FU! He escapes through the crowd just before the TNA stars get to him.

SmackDown features a special edition of the Cutting Edge, as it's a Christian Cage Appreciation version. Edge shows clips of classic E&C moments with the latest being Christian helping Edge win the World Championship at The Bash. Edge brings out Cage and they embrace. Cage says that he really isn't interested in any sort of war and only wanted to help out his brother. Edge appreciates it, but The Undertaker is here. He quickly appears in the ring and fights them both off. The Edgeheads cause a long enough distraction for Edge to nail a Spear. E&C set up for a Conchairto, but Batista is here! He takes out the Edgeheads with a double spear while E&C bail.

Monday Night Raw is billed as a huge event, with stars from TNA and WWE being promoted. The show opens with a contract signing with Vince McMahon and Jeff Jarrett regarding their deal for Summerslam. The WWE Championship Match between Triple H and Jeff Hardy will be the only non-WWE vs. TNA match on the card. They agree to work out the matches in the coming weeks. Jeff Jarrett says he has one last condition for the show, and that is that he gets to face John Cena at Summerslam. Cena comes out and accepts the challenge. Cena says he is feeling frisky and wants to kick some TNA ass tonight. Jarrett says if it's OK with Vince, he'll arrange an opponent for Cena tonight. Vince agrees and as a gesture of good will, will even allow a TNA title match to take place that night. Jarrett and McMahon shake.

The TNA match on Raw that night is Jay Lethal challenging his former friend Sonjay Dutt for the X Division Championship. The two put on a great match, which Lethal wins to regain the title. Later in the show, Chris Jericho welcomes Kurt Angle back to the Highlight Reel. The first thing he does is apologize for his comments two weeks ago, which they show on the JeriTron 6000 (in HD). Jericho respects Angle as a performer and would love to have a match with him at Summerslam. Angle accepts and they shake, but Angle pulls Jericho into an Angle Slam!

Before a tag team match pitting London and Kendrick against Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly can get under way, LAX come down to the ring claiming to be the greatest tag team in the wrestling business, and they want to prove it at Summerslam. They invite the WWE and World Tag Team Champions to compete in a match at Summerslam to unify all the titles. Both teams in the ring agree and this match is now for the tag titles. London and Kendrick win it with a roll-up. LAX get back on the mic after the match and point out that this match will be their type of match – an Ultimate X Match!

Jeff Hardy does battle with JBL later in the show. Triple H watches on from ringside. Hardy wins with a roll-up and a handful of tights.

Also on the show is Mickie James issuing a challenge to Awesome Kong for Summerslam, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash beating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch and Mr. Kennedy beating Umaga.

The main event is John Cena vs. Jeff Jarrett's hand-picked opponent… Kurt Angle. They go a good fifteen minutes when Chris Jericho interferes allowing Cena to hit a FU on Angle for the win. Post-match, Jeff Jarrett lays out Cena with a guitar shot, making it the third straight week Jarrett has stood tall at the end of Raw.

ECW kicks off with Tag Team Champions Miz and Morrison in the ring. They get on the mic and say that they too accept the challenge of LAX and will partake in the Ultimate X Match at Summerslam. They challenge any TNA tag team to come out and face them so that they can get ready for Summerslam. The Motor City Machineguns answer the challenge and beat the champions in a great match.

That night, we get a promo from America's Most Wanted. They say they're taking over ECW and will face Kane at Summerslam to put him on the shelf once and for all. Kane is not here tonight because they destroyed him last week. That's when Big Show comes out and chases them off.

The main event of the show is another WWE vs. TNA match. TNA Champ Samoa Joe makes an open challenge to anyone on the ECW roster and it is answered by CM Punk (ROH fans rejoice). They pair go 30 minutes in an amazing match. However there is a ref bump which allows Robert Roode to lay Joe out with the TNA Championship, leading to Punk getting the win following the Go2Sleep. Joe shakes hands with Punk after the match.

Impact opens up with Robert Roode coming to the ring to gloat. See, now he's the biggest heel in the company just by helping out WWE. He says he'll beat Joe at Hard Justice and then single-handedly take over both WWE and TNA. Joe interrupts and chases him off with a chair. He says at Hard Justice, WWE will be the last thing on his mind and he will destroy Roode. Kevin Nash's music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Nash didn't appreciate what Joe did a couple of weeks ago. Joe points out that as a traitor, Nash is a brave man to even be in the building tonight. Nash says he's not the only WWE employee here and Joe turns around into some Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels!

Later that night, The Motor City Machineguns defeat LAX in a non-title match, Awesome Kong accepts Mickie James' challenge for a match at Summerslam, Sonjay Dutt lays out Jay Lethal with a ladder and James Storm and Chris Harris go over Shark Boy and Curry Man.

Kurt Angle comes out and says he doesn't want to wait until Summerslam to get his hands on Jericho and dares Jericho to show up at Hard Justice. Jericho is here tonight and he comes out and accepts. Angle goads Jericho into heading for the ring and Team 3D attack him from behind. They put Jericho through a table with the 3D.

In the main event, Jeff Hardy goes one-on-one with Robert Roode in a battle of the number one contenders. Hardy gets the win with a Swanton Bomb after Joe returns the favor from Tuesday and nails Roode with the TNA gold.

SmackDown begins with the announcement that Undertaker and Batista will face Edge and Christian at Summerslam. America's Most Wanted come out and say that they want to face Batista and Taker tonight to prove their dominance. They are granted the match, but Edge and Christian both interfere and beat down Batista and Taker 4-on-2. Kane makes the save but gets outnumbered too. Big Show makes another save and clears the ring. Vickie Guerrero announces an 8-man tag match for Summerslam.

Also that night, AJ Styles makes his first appearance of the war by defeating Chuck Palumbo. AJ's offence will end up with him getting pops similar to Van Dam during the Invasion. Plus, CM Punk beats MVP and Matt Hardy goes over Rellik.

So with all that, we now have Summerslam looking something like this;

John Cena vs. Jeff Jarrett
America's Most Wanted, Edge and Christian vs. Undertaker, Kane, Batista and Big Show
Champion vs. Champion: Awesome Kong vs. Mickie James
Ultimate X Tag Team Unification Match: LAX vs. London and Kendrick vs. Miz and Morrison
WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy

And Hard Justice looks like this;

TNA Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Robert Roode
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho
Ladder Match for the X Division Champion: Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt

Raw (8/4) sees Samoa Joe confront Kevin Nash. Nash says he can't wrestle too great right now, but thinks that there is money to be made from Samoa Joe vs. Shawn Michaels. Joe likes it. Michaels sneaks in from behind and tries to super kick Joe, but Joe avoids it and Michaels connects with Nash.

The Motor City Machineguns beat London and Kendrick in tag action that night and point out that they have beat all three teams in the Ultimate X match in the space of a week and they should be in it too. LAX point out that it's their invitational and the Guns don't have an invite. They say they'll face the Guns at Hard Justice and put their titles on the line, with the winners going on to Summerslam. Miz and Morrison jump The Guns from behind, but LAX quickly hit the ring and chase them off, only for The Guns to lay LAX out with a series of double teams.

Mickie James teams up with Maria and Ashley to defeat The Beautiful People and Christy Hemme. Kong attacks after the match. She lays out Maria and Ashley, but Mickie avoids a charge at sends Kong to the floor where she backs off.

Jeff Hardy and Triple H team up to beat Robert Roode and Samoa Joe. Roode walks out, but Joe chases him and throws him back into harm's way before leaving himself. Triple H pins Roode following a Pedigree. Hardy then nails The Game with the WWE Championship and hits a Swanton Bomb. Afterwards, backstage, Hardy says that had nothing to do with WWE vs. TNA, he just wanted to make his intentions clear to Triple H.

AJ Styles beats Mr. Kennedy with a roll-up. Kennedy is pissed and attacks Styles after the match, laying him out with the Mic Check.

The main event of the evening is a tag team tables match pitting Team 3D against the team of Chris Jericho and Batista. Kurt Angle interferes by climbing on the ring apron, but Jericho connects with his springboard dropkick to send Angle crashing through a table on the outside, but Jericho turns around into a 3D. Batista cleans house and sets up a table but there is a ref bump. Batista puts D-Von through a table, but Kurt Angle recovers and lays The Animal out with a chair and puts him in the mess of the broken table. The referee recovers and declares 3D the victors.

ECW kicks off with Team 3D strutting to the ring. They mock what ECW has become and point out they have gone on to bigger and better things. Tommy Dreamer interrupts with Colin Delaney. Dreamer says Team 3D sold out a long time ago and he doesn't have a problem with that any more, but to come back here and insult ECW is too much. They want a tag match tonight. 3D laughs it off but accept anyway. Dreamer wants the match right now and they charge the ring. Dreamer takes Brother Ray to the floor. Delaney fights off Brother D-Von on the inside but turns around and eats a Gore from Rhino! That's a DQ. 3D put Dreamer through a table after the match.

Also that night, Miz and Morrison beat London and Kendrick via shenanigans, Big Show and Kane beats Curry Man and Shark Boy and CM Punk beats Sonjay Dutt with a little help from Jay Lethal. After the main event tag match of Show/Kane vs. Curry Man and Shark Boy, AMW try and attack both men, but get laid out with stereo chokeslams.

On Impact, Mr. Kennedy opens the show and makes a challenge to AJ Styles for a rematch at Hard Justice. Styles comes out and accepts, triggering a brawl. Officials separate AJ and Kennedy. Also that night, Kurt Angle is shown studying tapes of his old matches with Chris Jericho, but is attacked backstage by Y2J and they brawl. Samoa Joe cuts a promo on Shawn Michaels. Robert Roode tries to attack but Joe fights him off. Michaels hits the ring but gets thrown out by Joe, leaving Roode free to nail the champ with a chair and leave him bloodied in the ring. Nash and Michaels shake hands with Roode after the beatdown.

In the main event, Team 3D do battle with Colin Delaney and Tommy Dreamer, but the match ends prematurely when Rhino interferes. ECW Originals Stevie Richards and Nunzio try to make the save for Dreamer and Delaney but a handful of lower card TNA guys help out. CM Punk makes the save and stands tall at the end of the show.

On SmackDown, Dreamer, Delaney and Punk make a challenge to Team 3D and Rhino for Hard Justice. 3D accept, and say that they're going to destroy all of them and kill the legacy of ECW, because Tommy Dreamer and his little friends don't do it justice.

In four huge singles contests, Chris Cage beats Kane, Undertaker beats Chris Harris, Edge and Batista go to a draw and Big Show beats James Storm by DQ. AMW and Edge and Christian beat down Show after his match and bloody him before the faces make the save…

And that's all I've had time to do this week. Go figure. I did say this'll be a four-part deal, but it's going to be much longer than that, and that may be for the best. So next week I'll have Hard Justice, Summerslam and everything in between. The two pay-per-views will be detailed stuff so I don't how much more I'll have done.

I'm still in the middle of exams, so I'm out. I'm absolutely shattered these days, so I'm off for a rest. Wake me up when it's time to do this thing same time next week.